Aren't You Glad to See Me?
by LoLCicix
Summary: Shu and the gang have just defeated Lord Nene. However the joy and peace quickly comes to an end when Zola is kidnapped and held captive. Then, as the group is searching for her, the murders begin. Can they find the killer and stop them before it's too late? Will new love be found in the process? Find out, by reading "Aren't You Glad to See Me?" today! (some pairings in there too)
1. Chapter 1

Aren't You Glad to See Me? A Celebration of Victory Chapter 1

**Hey guys, LoLCici here, and finally, the moment you've all been waiting for: The first chapter of my totally super awesome and bad-ass epic story! 3 you all, thanks for your support, and enjoy the story! :-D Oh, and as a warning to all my readers, part of this chapter includes some language.**

***Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Dragon, or any other copyrights mentioned in this fan fiction**

"How long is this going to go on, anyway?" whined Shu. He had been sitting in the City of Logic's banquet hall for hours, dozing off as speech after speech was given, each even more boring than the last. Just as annoyed as Shu was, Bouquet turned to him and said, "Seriously, they aren't even talking to us anymore. We don't need to be-" and just before she could finish, a loud GRUMBLE echoed through her stomach. As Shu and Marumaro giggled, she blushed, and said, "Um, uh….that wasn't me, of course." "Guys," Kluke rasped from the other end of the table. "Keep it down, would you?" Right as she finished, her stomach growled too, and as she blushed, Shu and Bouquet let out a giggle. "You should see your face!" Shu blurted out, and Kluke angrily replied, "You be quiet!" Suddenly, the groaning Marumaro raised his tiny arm in the air, and yelled, "I….I can't take it anymore!" Just as everyone glanced in his direction, he screamed, "Oh, how could anything be so boring?" and all the people in the banquet hall gasped. However, even though Marumaro's impatience was disturbing the guests, Shu made no effort to calm him, for he was lost in deep thought of the recent events that had taken place:

_It was amazing to think that the night before, the group had finally defeated Lord Nene. It was long and hard; they fought with all the power they had in them, but he was getting stronger and stronger with every attack they delivered. Even Zola couldn't take it all, and she blacked out in the middle of the fight. However, in her weakened state, she briefly released her shadow, Killer bat, to protect Shu and Jiro from a chain attack. Then, as Jiro was knocked to the ground along with the others, it was up to him to win the fight. Destroying the element-changing crystal on Chimera's forehead took away a lot of Lord Nene's power, and in no time, he was defeated, destroyed by an all-out attack delivered by Shu and Blue Dragon. Oh, and to think that it all may not have happened if Shu had really just given up, and let the power of the shadow inside of him just disappear…._

Shu's thoughts were interrupted as a loud voice filled the large banquet hall, "And next, a four-hour congratulatory speech by Amaros King," Legolas announced. That was Marumaro's last straw, his final breaking point. He then angrily jumped out of his chair and stormed across the banquet hall, shouting, "That's it, I'm outta here!" ignoring Shu, who was franticly calling his name. As he darted towards the door, he bumped into a rather fat banquet guest, sending him flying three feet back. Shu, along with Jiro, Kluke, and Bouquet arrived at the scene just in time to find Legolas pinning the squirming Marumaro to the ground, who was screaming; "No, Please, you don't understand what you're doing to me here!" The rest of the group, already embarrassed by Marumaro's behavior, stood there shocked as Legolas said to Marumaro, "Return to your seat this instant!" What finally set Shu off was when Marumaro blurted out, "I'd rather be fighting Lord Nene!" and all of the people in the banquet hall gasped, and stared at them all, their jaws gaping and their eyes wide.

Meanwhile, on General Logi's ship, Delphinium was giving a final report. "Sir," she said. "The forces allied against Gran Kingdom are gathering in strength. Meanwhile, in the wake of Lord Nene's defeat, Gran Kingdom's forces are fleeing, or even deserting. What do we do now, General?" "Well," General Logi replied. "Our course of action seems clear, Delphinium. We depart Gran Kingdom now." But-""Enough!" General Logi interrupted. "My decision is made." Delphinium then replied; "Sir," and respectfully bowed, and as she turned to exit the room, she glared at the General, and swore under her breath. From there, she knew, that she had to pay him back for his betrayal of Lord Nene, but how? Just as she was about to step through the door, she whispered, "Bastard," to which the alarmed General Logi replied, "What was that I heard?" "Oh, nothing," Delphinium said in return, then as she proceeded down the hallway of the ship, thought to herself, "That son-of-a-bitch never shuts up, does he?"

"Now that Nene's gone and the children he captured are safe," Zola thought to herself. "There's only one more thing that I need to take care of." She had been walking for hours in the hot desert sun, her feet aching, and her heavy bag slung over her shoulder. It would be a while until she arrived at her destination, for it hadn't been visited in hundreds of years. As Zola walked on, she wondered how the rest of the group was doing. "If I'm correct," she thought. "They're probably growing impatient listening to all those speeches, and Marumaro will probably lose control and earn himself a swim in the fountain." As she gazed at the road ahead, something shiny caught her eye. Upon reaching it, she saw that it was an old, abandoned mechat. She hopped in, tested the engine, and sure enough, there was a loud rumble and it started up. Zola then grabbed hold of the steering wheel, and in the blink of an eye, she sped off into the sky and zoomed away, hoping to get to where she needed to be faster.

After a few minutes of flying, she spotted something on the ground. It appeared to be a large stone structure. "There it is," she thought. "The Sealed Grounds, I should land now." With that, she switched gears and gracefully landed the mechat. When she reached the ground, she hopped out, and studied the ruins before her. After looking around to be sure there was nobody there, she decided to enter. Inside the ruins, it was cold, dark, and the stone structure of the large room had eroded from age. Glancing up at the back wall, she saw a mural of what looked like two giant beasts engaging in battle. It was a short time before she noticed the marks that had been carved into one of the pillars supporting the ruins. "These marks," she said to herself. "Left by a sword. But why are they here?" Suddenly, a sound, like a rock dropping, that echoed throughout the structure. Zola turned around and shouted "Who's there?" Seeing that no one was there, she brushed the incident off, thinking it was just a small animal. As she began to walk away, she heard something else, this time, coming from somewhere in the room. It was a soft padding noise, like footsteps. "Ok," Zola thought to herself. "There's definitely something in here, and it's moving." Quickly, she drew her sword and looking around, said "Show yourself, I'm not afraid of you." Suddenly, something jumped up behind her from the darkness of the room, and before she could turn to face whatever it was, she felt the hand sweep up in front of her, and shove a cloth in her face. Immediately, Zola felt faint, her head spinning, and as she fell to the ground, she realized from the cloth's funny smell that she had been drugged. With the little strength she had left, she lifted her head in time to see a cloaked figure looming over her. "Sssshhh," it said. "Go to sleep now." That was the last thing Zola heard before she finally blacked out.

Shu and his friends were all worried. Zola had been gone for three days, and because she didn't return, the city police had declared her missing, and organized a search party. Looking around the area, they discovered the mechat parked near the sealed grounds. When the search party entered the ruins to investigate, all they found was Zola's sword, and lying next to it, her bag and a funny smelling cloth, which they soon learned was doused in a knockout drug. The area was searched for days, but there was no sign of Zola or her attacker. Meanwhile, the group was devastated. "I can't believe Zola actually went missing this time," said Bouquet. "Yeah, usually it's one of us who runs into trouble, and her who plans the rescue," Kluke replied. Joining in the conversation, Marumaro added, "I'd never thought that one day, we would all have to save her for once, Maro!" Everyone then glanced over to Shu, who was sitting on the couch, and Jiro, who was looking out the window of their hotel room that overlooked the entire City of Logic. Shu sighed, and said "Where's Zola when you need her?" "There's nothing we can do, guys," Jiro said desperately trying to hold back his tears. "Zola's missing, and all we can do is wait." Kluke then jumped up and shouted, "Don't say that, there has to be something we can do. After all, Zola would never give up on saving one of us, so we should do the same for her!" "She's right," Shu added. "We have to at least try and do something to help find Zola. Now, let's think: The search party found a drugged cloth at the crime scene, along with Zola's sword and bag. What could that mean?" "Well," Bouquet said. "I went to the police station this morning, where an officer told me that due to the circumstances of the crime scene, investigators have assumed she was kidnapped, and that her attacker used the cloth to drug her." Marumaro then added, "If that's the case, then why was Zola's sword and bag left behind?" "Well, maybe the attacker, whoever it was, didn't have time to hide the evidence after dragging Zola away, or maybe they really want us to know that they have Zola somewhere." "That's right," Kluke replied. "Knowing Zola, I don't think she'd leave all her stuff there like that, especially her sword. Also, the substance in the cloth was a knockout drug, meant to make victims fall unconscious, and being that there was probably no one else at The Sealed Grounds during the attack, the circumstances would have been perfect for a kidnapping. The only question that remains is who did it, and why." Jiro then turned to face the rest of his friends and said, "Well, now that Nene's gone, I think there's only one person we know who could possibly have a reason to hold that much of a grudge against Zola." Yeah, that's right," Shu shouted. "And I think I know exactly who it is. Come on guys, let's go. We have to track down General Logi!"

**Well, that's the end of the first chapter you guys. Sorry for the shortness, some stuff came up, but that's ok, because I'll definitely have the next chapter up in the next week, if possible! Thanks, and be sure to read my next chapter! ^-^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey people, here's the next chappie 4 ya! **** Just to warn you all, this chapter, and maybe even more afterwards, has a bit of language in it. (not rated T for nothing) Please read and review, thakzzz!**

Chapter 2: The Boiling Point

5:30 am. It was still dark outside; the air was thick and foggy, and it was so cold, they thought they would die if they were to stay out there any longer. However, the determined Shu and his friends continued on with their mission, walking through the quiet streets of the City of Logic. Slipping out of their hotel room wasn't so hard. The soldiers were all in their barracks sleeping, resting up for another full day of nonstop training. The Gran Kingdom army was still at large, and they needed to be stopped. However, this was not of interest to the five friends. No, what they were really seeking was a rescue, for someone they deeply cared about was kidnapped; gone, unless they could find her. That person was their leader, not to mention good friend, Zola. Without her, Lord Nene would never have been defeated, and his reign of terror would have been allowed to progress on to the rest of the word. Zola was always there to help them when they got into trouble, but now, she needed help, and it was up to Shu, Kluke, Jiro, Bouquet, and Marumaro to save her.

After a few minutes of walking, the group had finally arrived at the informant tent. Shu sighed as he remembered the previous time he had been here, and the dear friend he had lost. "If only we had gotten to them faster," he thought. "Then, maybe Homeron would still be here, maybe even helping us find Zola." As the group entered the small tent, a warm breeze rushed over them, which felt good after being so cold just a few moments before. As Shu looked around the room, he noticed an old man with a long gray beard, sitting at the clerk's table. Reluctantly, the group moved closer to him and sat down. The man then looked at them and said, "Good morning young shadow wielders. What brings you here this early?" Of the five of them, Kluke was the first to speak: "Well sir, you see, it's about our friend, Zola." The clerk then replied, "Ah, yes, Zola, the woman the police speak of; the one kidnapped a few days ago inside the Sealed Grounds. Unfortunately, though I do feel sorry for your loss, I cannot help you. Us Informants specialize in gathering information, not searching for-""We know," interrupted Jiro. "We were actually hoping that you could help us track down someone." "And who may this person be?" the clerk asked, to which Jiro replied, "General Logi. We think he may have something to do with Zola's disappearance." The clerk paused for a second then asked, "Hmmmmm, are you really sure? A mission like that would be very tricky. It could take a bit of time, not to mention a considerable amount of money." "Money is not an issue for us," Kluke replied. "Our only concern is time. If we don't work fast, Zola could be dead before we can even find her." "Very well then," the clerk said. "We'll take the job. This woman sounds very important to you children, and I'd hate to see you lose someone like that. Just be prepared for when my team of Informants return with your information, as you should begin your rescue operation as soon as possible." As the group stood up to leave, Shu turned to the clerk and said, "Thank you, sir. Also…..do you maybe think, that, if Homeron was still here, he would help us too?" Smiling, the clerk replied, "I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Goodbye young shadow wielders, and good luck finding your friend!" With that, the five of them exited the tent, thanking the clerk for his help, and as they walked back down the dark, foggy street, they all silently prayed that their friend Zola was okay, wherever she was.

It was a calm and peaceful that night. From high in the clear desert sky, the full moon illuminated her path as she dragged the unconscious Zola farther through Death Valley's steep cliffs and deep canyons. After groaning from the soreness deep in her muscles, she thought to herself, "Another minute of this, and I'm gonna be sick! Why does this bitch have to be so heavy?" A few moments later, the woman paused, laid Zola down on a nearby rock, and then pulled the GPS device out from under her long, black robe. The GPS pinpointed her location, and determined that she had ten more miles of walking until she would reach her destination, somewhere deep in the mountains, far away from any known civilization. "Just great," she said out loud. "When I finally get there, Zola's really gonna pay for making me drag her this far. Kidnapping shouldn't be this hard! Oh well, she'll thank me later, because what I have in store will change her life forever!" And as she continued her long journey, dragging Zola behind her, she let out a long, menacing laugh, which echoed through the canyon and into the dark night.

"So this is it," Jiro said out loud. "General Logi's ship." Marumaro then added, "He's in there all right, and I bet Zola is too, Maro!" The team of Informants had returned with information on General Logi's whereabouts the day before, and today, they had planned to attack and find out what he knew about Zola's disappearance. Maybe, they would even find her in there. After all, General Logi was the only other person they knew of that had some sort of motive for kidnapping Zola. In fact, the Gran Kingdom airship wasn't very far from where Zola had been supposedly attacked; it was parked in a warehouse located only a few miles from the Sealed Grounds. After scanning the area and fully taking in their surroundings, the group proceeded with their plan of attack: They were going to sneak in from the back, where the control room was located. They would then disable the security system, taking out the guards and shutting down their cameras, and after that continue down the hall that led to the hangar, exterminating any soldiers who stood in their way. When they reached the hangar, they would use their shadows to bust down the door and attack the entire Gran Kingdom fleet. In the process, they would hunt down General Logi (including any of his other goons) and take him back to the City of Logic, where they would interrogate him, finding out everything he knows about what happened to Zola.

Quietly, the five friends each summoned their shadows; Shu with Blue Dragon, Kluke with Phoenix, Bouquet with Hippo, Marumaro with Saber Tiger, and Jiro with Minotaur. Then, they slowly advanced towards the warehouse, where their shadows lifted them over the 30-foot electric fence. After that, Minotaur, in shadow form, slipped under the door and unlocked it, allowing the group to enter. (A little trick taught to them by Zola herself) They ran down the hallway and to the control room, where Saber Tiger swiftly knocked out the guards, and in doing so, shut down all of the alarms and security cameras of the facility. Everybody then ran down the hallway leading up to the hangar, using their shadows to take out every single Gran Kingdom soldier that came their way. After a few minutes, they had finally reached the entrance to the hangar. Shu cried out "Crushing Nail!" and after a few slashed delivered by Blue Dragon with his now spear-like crystal arms, the metal door was destroyed. The soldiers inside the hangar at first just stared, then ran for their lives as every single ship in the Gran Kingdom fleet was demolished by the five shadows and their masters. All of the ships, except for one, which belonged to General Logi. After obliterating the entire fleet, Shu and his friends went on to look for Genera Logi. Blue Dragon punched a hole in the top of General Logi's ship, allowing the group to safely enter. They all ran through the hallways, looking in rooms and smashing their way through walls, frantically searching for the General, who was nowhere to be found. The group was about to give up and search for him outside, when they came through a large door, where standing in the middle of the room, sword drawn and shadow (Odin) summoned, was General Logi himself. At first, the five all just stood there confused, when Bouquet finally spoke up and asked, "Hey, what happened to your other shadow, Valkyrie?" to which General Logi replied, "Ha ha, try all you want children, but you'll never take me al-wait, did you just ask me about my shadow?" The group nodded in reply. Then, the now perplexed General Logi asked, "So, you don't want to know why I'm here, or what my next evil plot is?" "Well, we did," Marumaro said. "But now, we want to know what's up with you and this whole "switching shadows" thing, cuz' you know, you really can't do that; it ruins the plotline, Maro!" "I don't see your point," General Logi replied. "How is me switching my shadow ruining the plotline?" "I'll tell ya' why," Shu responded. "Now, instead of paying attention to us and how we defeat you in en epic battle that destroys half the landscape in the end, the reader's attention will be diverted to wanting to know what you did with your shadow. Oh great, now look what you did! You just helped us waste five minutes of the reader's time arguing about things that ruin stories, which ruins it even more. Wow Logi, thanks a lot. You know, you don't really have to be such a dick all the time. " General Logi, shocked at the children's words, replied, "Wait, how is this my fault? You started it all in the first place, telling me that my shadow can't change in the story, then-""WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP, RIGHT NOW!" shouted Jiro, enraged after all of the time that was just wasted on complete nonsense. "Now, why don't we just skip to the part where we battle, All of us can argue after the chapter ends, when we're all just drifting around in the author's mind, waiting to be written about, okay?" "You know what, fine then," General Logi said. "I'll explain to everyone what happened to my shadow: My old shadow was weak, (and kind of lesbo to be honest) blah, blah, blah, I decided to use my real shadow, Odin, who's actually one of the shadows used by the seven Soldiers of Light, blah, blah, blah, I'm a descendant too, Zola lied to you, blah, blah, blah, end of story. We good now?" "Yeah, sure whatever," the five friends all said at the same time. "Now, if you don't mind can we get this battle over with?" "Very well, then," replied General Logi. "Now Odin, attack!" "Yes, sir," shouted Odin, and with that, the shadow zoomed towards the five friends and their shadows, managing to land some good blows on Saber Tiger and Minotaur's heads. Almost instantly, Blue Dragon counterattacked using Blue Explosion, while Hippo and Bouquet transformed into a Black Shadow type 4 Robot, delivering small attacks from the sidelines. However, Odin was fast and dodged almost all of their attacks, taking only a few hits. Now, Kluke, on the other hand, kind of just sat in a nearby corner doing nothing. To be honest, the only thing her shadow was good for was defense, but at this point, she couldn't use any. If Phoenix used Feather Protect, it would of course protect her friends from taking any damage from Logi, but at the same time, prevent them from delivering any themselves. Her only other good attack was Feather Storm, but it really sucked, because the most anyone can do to hurt someone with feathers is to suffocate them, but during most shadow battles, there is so much wind blowing around that the feathers simply blow away, leaving everyone else in the group pissed at her, but too engaged in battle to even show it. Sitting alone in that corner was boring, and Kluke felt a bit sad that she couldn't do much to aid her friends at this point. "But hey," she thought to herself. "At least I brought popcorn this time!"

20 minutes had passed, and yet, the battle continued to rage on. In between attacks, the shadows began to speak to each other: "You know what," Minotaur said. "This whole battle is sure becoming really stupid. I mean, why are we attacking the shadow when we could just attack the person controlling it-something like that would save a lot of time." "Yeah," Blue Dragon replied. "Even better, our masters should just go and kill their enemies themselves. After all, they complain about their opponents always being tough to beat, when it's really us doing all the work. When we're up in the sky risking our lives for a bunch of 10-year old Sissy-Nannies, they're down on the ground bickering like a bunch of high school girls." "That's right," Saber Tiger added. "Also, if we die, the only thing that will happen to them is that they lose us, so either way, we will always be the ones taking the heat for the shit that our masters start in their world. Even Odin can agree on this, right?" "Yeah, I getch'a there. I mean, you should see my master, General Logi. A normal guy his age would be out in the clubs, drinking and partying all night with a bunch of hot babes. Oh, but not this guy; all he does is devise a bunch of evil plans to destroy all the people he hates, and he always whines about that ugly scar on his face, but yet, never bothered actually doing anything about it. Come on, this is an anime world, so somewhere there's a creepy old lady who lives in a cave who has a bunch of "magical potions" that can make you look better, or become stronger, or whatever. Oh, and did I mention that he looks really gay with that long, blonde hair of his, and the dress thing he's always wearing? He definitely needs some change in style!" Then, Hippo spoke up and shouted: "Will everyone please just concentrate on the fight here? I've had about enough of your chatter." Blue Dragon turned to him and replied, "How about you? Why are you complaining when you're more annoying that all of us put together? You're the biggest pussy in the world right now, and that's probably because your master is a 9-year old girl who has abnormally large boobs, which makes her an obvious target for the millions of pedophiles and molesters out there." Suddenly, Bouquet screamed, "Excuse me," then unsummoned her shadow, and in her human form, shrieked, "What did you just say about me?" "Oh, nothing," Jiro answered. "He just mentioned that your boobs are way too big for a girl your age." "Oh, really?" Bouquet replied. "My boobs are too big? No they're not, you're just mad because you probably don't even have a dick that's over two inches! Now, just shut the hell up, or I will take my car keys and shove them up your ass so far that it rips your stomach open and all the blood drains from your body!" Then, as Jiro backed away in fear, Shu laughed and said, "But you don't even have a car!" straw for Bouquet. She had finally reached her boiling point and was done with their perverted remarks and repulsive behavior. With that, Bouquet, raging with anger, growled as she slowly approached the ship's huge engine, and with a sudden burst of inhuman strength, ripped it from its place, and threw it over her head, crushing the alarmed General Logi and Odin. As the smoke cleared from the explosion caused by impact, the group all stared in fear, shocked at the still-raging Bouquet's actions." Then, from the corner, Phoenix said out loud, "Well, I think we can all learn something from this." "Yeah," Kluke replied, munching on her popcorn. "Don't ever mess with Bouquet, ever."

**Hey everybody! Again, I'm sorry about how short my last chapter was, after all, I had a bit of a family emergency, so I worked kind of fast. However, I did promise that my next chapter would be better (and longer) so I did my best on making this chapter exactly that. I hoped you enjoyed reading my story so far, and I'll have the next chapter up soon, that's a promise! ^-^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, here's Chapter 3, coming your way! Again, this chapter includes some explicit content, so be warned, and don't blame me if your mommy walks in the room and sees you reading something with the "F-word" on it, resulting in you getting grounded. Are we clear? Good, now let's get to the story now, M'kay? ;-) Don't forget to read and review! (Which really makes no sense, because why else would you be here, am I right?)**

***Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Disney, or an of the other trademarks mentioned on this fan fiction, including Blue Dragon**

Chapter 3: You Mean to Tell Me That Zola's Been Kidnapped?

After their triumphant victory over General Logi, the group called Conrad and Legolas over a radio to what used to be the Gran Kingdom warehouse, to help transport Logi, who was knocked unconscious by the ship's engine, back to the City of Logic. There, they would interrogate him until he told them everything he knew about Zola's disappearance. As Conrad and Legolas loaded General Logi into a truck, the five friends each took some time to examine the damage they had caused during battle. As they picked their way through the rubble, thay managed to find Schneider and Andropov huddled in what seemed to be a trash can. After pulling the two out, Jiro and Shu chased them around the rubble until Andropov tripped on a chunk of metal and fell, hugging his foot, crying and screaming "AAAAAAHHHH! Schneider, my foot hurts, come over here and carry me!" Schneider then turned around and replied, "Hell no," and approaching him, said, "It can't be that bad, now get up, the shadow wielders are gaining on us." "Fine then," the blubbering Andropov cried. "Then kiss it!" "What the – are you kidding?" Schneider replied. "What exactly makes you think I'm going to actually kiss your foot? I may be responsible for you, but that doesn't make me your mommy!" Andropov angrily said, "Fine then. I guess I'll just tell General Logi about your obsession of the Twilight Saga and Disney Princess themed Barbie dolls." Schneider gasped at the remark. "You wouldn't dare! I'll kill you before you even-"he began until Shu interrupted him, saying, "It's too late for that, we've got you now!" With that, both he and Jiro charged at Andropov and Schneider with their shadows, sending the two soldiers flying. When they hit the ground, they groaned and struggled as they were carried by Legolas into the truck that contained General Logi. While everybody continued searching for other survivors, Conrad approached Shu, and asked, "Hey Shu, exactly what happened here." "Nothing really," Shu replied. "We all figured that General Logi knows something about Zola's disappearance, so we had some informants track him down. Then, we came here, attacked Gran Kingdom's fleet, defeated Logi, and captured him. Now, we can really find out what he knows." Conrad paused for a second, then responded, saying, "Wow, that's amazing, did someone else from Gran Kingdom happen to stop by?" "Actually," Shu replied. "The only person who stopped by was Delphinuim, but that was after the battle." Conrad then looked at him and said, "Really, what did he do?" "Well," Shu began. When you and Legolas were on your way here, she came by with an electric razor in hand. She was kinda shocked when she saw us, but then just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh well, guess my work's been done for me." Before she left, Marumaro asked her what she was doing with the razor, and she just replied, "Well, General Logi needs a haircut, so I was just gonna do him a little favor. But, there's no point in doing that now, seeing as he's probably dead. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Deathroy and use his shadow-wielding powers for my own evil deeds which never really make sense, because I've always had Nene there telling me what to do. Oh, and one more thing: while he's out cold, shave General Logi bald for me, will ya? Goodbye now!" and after that, she just walked away." Conrad, after taking a moment to think about it, said in return, "Hmmmm, what do you think she's going to do now?" "Who cares," Shu replied. "After all, she's never really been a main focus in the story, she's always been more of a side character, with side stories that make the plot not just about the main characters. Kinda like you, Conrad." To this, Conrad responded with a grunt and a frown, the said, "Well, we should all be heading back to the City of Logic now; we want to have our prisoner ready for interrogation by the time he wakes up." Shu nodded, and the two proceeded toward the truck where the rest of the gang were waiting.

Zola screamed in shock as the ice cold water splashed her face, soaking her hair and every inch of her upper body. She struggled to move, but found that her arms were chained to a wall in what appeared to be a prison cell. As she scanned the cold, dark room around her, she could see that it was filled with laboratory equipment, similar to those used by Gran Kingdom. "That's strange," she thought. "Who would want to be doing all these experiments now that Nene is dead?" Suddenly, a hint of something black caught her eye, and her attention was directed to a tall, cloaked figure standing just outside her cell, holding an empty water bucket. "Ah," it said in a female voice. "You're awake. I just couldn't wait to see the look on the "Great Zola's" face when she found herself helplessly at my mercy!" That being said, the figure let out a long, menacing laugh that echoed throughout the room. (which she seems to apparently enjoy doing) Zola frowned, then replied, "Ok, so what do you really want from me, whoever you are?" The figure smiled, then in response, said, "Well, now that you asked, you're here because I brought you here, not to hurt you, but more to help you." Zola then asked, "Help me?" and the figure replied, "Of course. Help you suffer, that is." "But why?" Zola asked in reply, then the figure leaned closer to the cell and rasped, "Because, I want to make you and your friends pay for what you've done. They'll all suffer too, but you, Zola, will suffer most of all. After all, you were their leader." When the figure leaned away, Zola's eyes widened and she shouted, "You bitch! I'll kill you if you lay even a finger on them! You must be one of Nene's followers, mad because my friends and I defeated him!" to which the figure sighed, the replied, "No dear, you have it all wrong. Though it is true that I do have some history with Lord Nene, his death does not affect me in any way. You will soon learn more of my reasons for keeping you here. In the meantime, you can wait as I kill every single one of those little brats you call "friends," and anybody else you love and care about. And, it's such a shame that you can't do a thing about it, because one by one, as they all die, you'll be in here, trapped, like a bird in a cage!" Zola gasped in horror at the figure's words, and as it turned to leave, she asked, "Isn't it about time you showed me your face? There's no sense in keeping secrets, seeing as I'll be here for a while." The figure slowly turned to her, then replied, "Unfortunately, I cannot reveal that to you just yet. Oh, but don't worry, you'll find out very soon, and when you do, I'll make you beautiful, just like me!" With that, the figure proceeded to exit the room, leaving Zola to wonder what was to become of herself.

The interrogation room fell silent as the dizzy General Logi regained consciousness. He looked around the room, then down at his arms, which were cuffed to the table, and asked, "Where am I, and what do you bastards want from me?" Of the group of people in the room, Shu was the first to reply: "Oh, not much. We just wanna know what you did with Zola, that's all. Now, tell us or die!" Before Shu could release his anger, Conrad stepped forward and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, stopping him from taking any unnecessary action. General Logi, confused, replied, "Wait, what? Zola? I don't know what you're talking about? What happened to her?" Jiro grunted, then squeezing his hands into tight fists, shouted, "Don't lie to us! You kidnapped her, and we know it was you! You've hated her for years, wanting to kill her every chance you got, now tell us what you did with her you Bastard!" General Logi was shocked; he didn't know what to think. "Zola was kidnapped?" he asked. "When – How did this happen?" Bouquet finally stepped up and said, "Stop playing dumb, you know what you did. Besides, your ship was only a few miles from the Sealed Grounds, so you're the only one that could have taken her, you…. You… Meanie!" The rest of the group just simply sweatdropped and sighed at her lame comment, then proceeded with the interrogation. Marumaro then added, "Yeah, so why don't you save yourself the trouble and just fess up already, Maro!" General Logi, asked in reply, "Wait, the Sealed Grounds, what the hell happened there?" It was Kluke's turn to answer, and she said, "You fucking idiot! You know what happened! It's the place where you kidnapped Zola! It's why you're here, remember? Or, are you too retarded to even use your head for once!?" Everybody in the room merely stared, their jaws dropped, as this was probably the first time they had ever heard Kluke say something like that, to which she replied, "Oh, so you guys can talk all dirty, but I can't? Wow, you guys can be real pussies sometimes, you know that, right?" General Logi, also surprised, said, "First of all, that was quite rude of you Kluke. You know, just because I'm one of the main antagonists in the story doesn't mean I don't have feelings! You know, you all can be pretty mean sometimes, but, it's not like I really care what people think of me; I don't care that I'm one of the most hated characters in the storyline..." Then, after a few sobs, General Logi continued, saying, "Second, I still have no clue what the hell you all are talking about. What about Zola and the Sealed Grounds? What's happening, is there something I should know about?" Conrad, waiting patiently for his turn to speak, facepalmed, sighed, then said, "Do you even know what's going on here?" General Logi glared, then replied, "No, I do not, in fact, know what is going on. If you all would have listened before, you would know that. Now, can someone please explain to me exactly what is going on?" Shu sighed, then said, "Look guys, I don't think it was him anymore. He obviously doesn't know about the situation, so since he's here, we might as well let him in on it" The rest of his friends nodded in agreement. Shu the turned to face General Logi, and began to tell the story: "Okay, so it happened a few days ago, the day after Nene was defeated. We were all in the City of Logic attending a banquet held in our honor. However, instead of staying, Zola went off somewhere, saying that she had to "take care of something." "Mmmm hmmmm," General Logi said. "Then what happened?" "Well," Shu continued. "You see, after that, she never came back. We were all worried the next day, so we sent out a search party. They found a mechat parked outside the Sealed Grounds, and when they went inside the ruins, they found her sword and bag just lying on the ground, along with a funny smelling cloth. We searched for her all day, but Zola was nowhere to be found, and after some testing, we found out that the cloth had some residue of a knockout drug of some sort, so we assumed that she had been kidnapped, and that whoever did it used the cloth to drug her. We all thought that you had done it because you're the only known person to have some kind of motive for doing something like that to Zola. After all, you've had a grudge against her for quite some time, right?" For this, General Logi had to pause for a minute. He was completely shocked, not that he had been accused of kidnapping Zola, but that she was kidnapped in the first place. _Who could possibly want to do something like that? Was there anyone else that wanted her revenge as much as he did? Of course, there was Lord Nene, but he was dead, so he couldn't have done it. Also, Zola isn't one to be easily fooled. Whoever kidnapped her had to have been someone who specializes in sneak attacks, like a spy of some sort. Wait, what's going on in his mind right now? Zola had been his mortal enemy for a long time, so why did he seem so concerned? Could he actually be….worried? Worried about the woman who gave him that scar? The one he vowed to kill, even if he had to chase her to the ends of the Earth? Could it be, that deep, deep inside, behind all the hate that constantly plagued his heart, behind all the pain that had been brought to him by her, lied something that he thought would never come to mind; his true feelings for- _Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when Jiro shouted, "So, do you get it now?" General Logi slowly replied, saying, "So…..you're trying to tell me that Zola was kidnapped a few days ago at the Sealed Grounds?" Hearing those words, the frustrated group all cried out at once, "YES!" "Finally, after all this time, he gets it, Maro!" Marumaro added. Conrad then said, "Well, we should probably let you go now. After all, you won't really be that much of use to us, since you don't know anything." And just as Conrad began to signal the guards to release the prisoner, General Logi spoke up and said, "Wait, I want to help you!" Everybody in the room gasped, and General Logi continued, saying, "I have some, uuuhh…unfinished business to settle with Zola, and I want to be the first to challenge her when she is found." The group, still confused, all agreed, and as the guards were releasing the General from his cuffs, Kluke said in reply, "So, what should we do first, since you're the master at this stuff." General Logi thought for a minute then said, "First, we should perform a background check; find out everything we can on Zola's history. That way, we'll know if there's anyone in particular we should be looking for, someone who has some kind of connection with her." With that, the five friends ran out the door, ready to begin their search for Zola, leaving General Logi and Conrad to discuss some important matters, regarding security, and whether they could really trust General Logi or not.

As the rest of the gang were preparing for their investigation, Kluke decided to go and visit Andropov and Schneider in their hotel room, not wanting to keep them in the shadows. After knocking on the door, she was greeted by Schneider, who frowned as he saw who his visitor was. "What do you want?" he asked, and Kluke replied with, "Oh, nothing really, I just wanted to check on you, that's all. Um, may I come in?" "I suppose," Schneider said, rolling his eyes, and he stepped aside, allowing Kluke to enter the messy room. The bed sheets were scattered all over the floor, and the couch had been flipped upside down. To her right, she saw that a big hole had been smashed into the television screen, and that the refrigerator's contents had all been splattered on a nearby wall. She then noticed that a portrait of one of the city's founders had a moustache drawn over it with a permanent marker. Kluke then turned to Schneider and asked about what had happened, to which Schneider replied, "Well, you see, it started when Andropov and I were watching tv. He wanted to watch the "Lauren is Explorin' " show, while I, on the other hand, wanted to watch something a bit more, mature such as "Tom Zinklebell and the Magical Glittering Fairies." We started to argue, and, well, this happened as a result. "I'll have you know," Andropov said, stepping out from behind an overturned dresser. "That Tom Zinklebell and the Magical Glittering Fairies is for whiny-assed two year olds who don't even know how to use the potty yet!" "That's it," Schneider growled. "You're really gonna get it now!" With that, he summoned his shadow, and as Andropov summoned his, used Isabell to shoot poison arrows as Alublujem blocked them, releasing a cloud of toxic gas into the room. Both Andropov and Schneider covered their faces with their arms. However, Kluke wasn't so quick to do so, and passed out right in the middle of the room.

Kluke slowly opened her eyes to find Andropov staring down at her, a concerned look on his face. She finally worked up the strength to say, "Hey," and Andropov replied, saying, "You passed out when you breathed in some of Schneider's knockout gas. I apologize for that; he does that quite often, when we get into fights, at least." Kluke then weakly lifted her hand, resting it on his, letting out a slight giggle when he blushed. "Thanks for helping me. I really appreciate it." Then, sleepiness filled her body, and as she slowly drifted off to sleep, Kluke caught a glimse of the small smile beginning to form on Andropov's face.

**Well guys, there you have it, Chapter 3, not to mention uploaded in three dayzz! High Five! (Wait, no high five…..okay… :_(….) Anyway, thank you all so much for reading, please review, tell me what you think, and I will have the next chapter up very, very soon, pinkie promise! ;-)**

**Oh, and also, those tv shows that I mentioned earlier in the story, (Lauren is Explorin', Glittering Fairies) they're all my little OC's, I made them up :-P And if you're wondering why I use smileys all the time, here's your answer: CUZ I DAMN WELL FEEL LIKE IT! XD So get used to it, cuz imma be usin' ****them all the time****!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Background Check

**Hey guys! Again, sorry for the lack of updates, I had a really painful ear infection, along with LOADS of schoolwork **** I really wanted to get this chapter up really fast so you all could read it, so finally, after weeks of waiting for y'all, (which, I know, was almost as painful as this ear infection) here it is, chapter 4! Also, it may seem a bit shot because I didn't want to put too much into one chapter. The next update will be soon after this one, I promise! :-D Again, a little language warning. If you're too much of a sissy-nanny to deal with a few words here and there, then this story is probably not for you. Short sissy-nanny test for you: PENIS. IF you fainted, cried, or locked yourself in a closet all day after reading that, then YOU, my fried, ARE A SISSY-NANNY :-P**

***Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Dragon, or any other trademarks mentioned in this Fan Fiction. The only things I own are any o/c's I create **

Walking down the long hallway from the hotel room, Marumaro looked down at his watch for the first time that morning. Realizing what the time was, he immediately began sprinting out of the building, for he was supposed to meet Shu, Kluke, and the rest of his friends at the City of Logic's massive library half an hour ago. There, they were to begin their study of Zola's past, along with Conrad, Legolas, and General Logi, who had also agreed to help them the day before. However, Marumaro, being the pervert he is, became so caught up in his monthly "panty raid," that he lost track of time. He continued running towards the library, remembering that Zola needed their help, and that this was a necessary part of their mission, and was almost there, when he decided to make a quick stop at a bathroom; the women's, to be exact. As he made his way through the crowd of angry, screaming girls, he shouted, "Don't miss me too much, ladies; I'll be back for you later, I promise!" And with that, he pushed through the heavy iron doors to meet up with his friends, not wanting to be any later than he already was.

Marumaro wandered around the library for a while, until he finally found his friends sitting at a table, and as he cautiously approached them, his friends all turned to him, looking very annoyed. As Marumaro mentally prepared himself for the lecture to come, Jiro was the first to speak: "Where have you been?" he asked with an angry tone in his voice. "You were supposed to meet us here half an hour ago!" Marumaro nervously replied, "Ummm, well, I was…. -""Never mind!" Shu interrupted. "Let's just get on with this; the sooner we find Zola, the better." And right as he said that, General Logi stepped into view, Conrad following. "Enough with the foolishness," General Logi said. "We're here to look into Zola's past, not run around like a bunch of children." "But sir," Marumaro began. "I hate to say this, but we are a bunch if children." "Yeah," Shu added. "And now that I think about it, doesn't it seem odd that almost all of our opponents are like 15 years older than us? I mean, don't they all have anything better to do than screwing with kids all the ti-" before he could finish, Marumaro interrupted saying, "Ha, you said screwing," which earned him a smack on the head from Kluke and dirty looks from the rest of the group. "Anyway," General Logi continued. "We have lots of work to do, so we should start now." With that, he pulled a small computer from his pocket, turned it on, and suddenly, there was a small flash, and millions of tiny letters flashed across the screen. "This here," General Logi said. "Is a record of all the people who have ever worked for Gran Kingdom. From what we already know about him, Zola's father was one of Nene's researchers about ten years ago. Though he's dead now, his records are still in the system-""Which will lead us to information on his family," Jiro interrupted. "Including Zola." "But wait," Kluke added. "We know that she herself used to work for Nene, so why can't we just look up her records and use those?" The General paused for a moment then answered: "Well, when she was first recruited, I was in charge of her, and I know for a fact that she never provided us with anything regarding her past, so it would still be best to find her family history through her father's records." "Well then what are we all waiting for?" Bouquet asked enthusiastically. "Let's start researching! I'll go find some books right now!" And as she skipped off into the long maze of bookshelves, the rest of the group nodded in agreement, then went off to begin their research as well.

"Look at them," she said to herself. "Those little brats, all of them just running around like animals. How can they play after what they've done?" She then stood up from her hiding spot in the rafters of the library's dark ceiling, hopped to the next support beam, and gazed down at Bouquet, who was busy flipping a dusty leather-bound record book. Seeing the young girl, she thought. "She disgusts me most of all." Giggling softly under her long, black cloak, she said, "Oh, but I shouldn't worry too much now, should I? After all, it's only a matter of time until I can finally take my revenge, and I'll be sure to kill her first! The sooner she's out of my way, the better." With a sweep of her long cloak, the figure disappeared into the darkness, leaving Bouquet completely oblivious to its presence.

Five long hours had passed, and General Logi was still seated at the Gran Kingdom computer, drowsily looking through the old records. The work was tiring; staring at the bright screen strained his eyes so much that he became lightheaded by just glancing away. He was reading some birth certificate, when he felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier with every word. Soon, he could feel some of his muscles relax. "Just one minute," he thought. "I'll just close my eyes for one minute, then I'll get back…..to….." just before he could finish his own thoughts, he slowly began to nod off to sleep….

"What the fuck are you doing?" Suddenly, General Logi's eyes burst open and he sat up, fully awake, to see an obviously very irritated Conrad glaring at him from behind his book. "Why are you sleeping when you still have work to do? This was your idea in the first place." "Well," General Logi replied. "Staring at a screen for 5 hours makes you drowsy, but, of course you couldn't know that, with your city being so behind in technology. In fact, if I asked you what a microwave was, you'd think I was crazy." Conrad grunted, then replied, "Jibral's king prefers to do things the more "Traditional" way. He finds no use in technology, especially after seeing what use Gran Kingdom made of it. Why would we need something that can cause pain and suffering in the world?" To this, General Logi just laughed. "Oh really?" he said. "Or is it because your king is just too stupid to even realize how weak Jibral is with its old-school ways. Hmmmm, now that I think about that, it's no wonder you never stood a chance against Lord Nene. If we really wanted to, Gran Kingdom could have squashed your puny city like a bug, and instead of fighting back, you would put all your faith in a bunch of 10 year old children!" Conrad, who became super pissed at General Logis words, scrunched his hand into a tight fist, angrily shouted, "You take that back right now, the city of Jibral is ruled by the finest leader in history and is in command of one of the strongest armies in the land!" Slightly chuckling under his breath, General Logi replied, "Oh, but it is, in fact the truth; Jibral was weak compared to Gran Kingdom, and its army was no match for Lord Nene's, who, of course, was led by no other than myself. I assume you lead an army too, correct?" "Yeah, what of it?" Conrad, rage quickly building, replied. "Another minute of this gay-assed son-of-a-bitch's ranting and I swear I'll kill myself!" he thought. Smiling, Logi said in return, "You should be ashamed, leading such a weak army into defeat during every battle. Oh, but who am I kidding? I feel that the soldiers should be more embarrassed of you, waving around that oversized sword of yours; how do you even use that thing properly? The answer is that you can't, which is why you suck at fighting, and when it's sheathed, your sword probably knocks ten people to the ground every time you turn around. Why do you even have it if all it's going to do is make you look like a fool?" That did it. Conrad jumped up, knocking the chair he was sitting on to the ground, and squeezing his fists even harder, shouted, "That's it! I've had enough of your stupid bitching! You ramble on about the same damn thing, all just to annoy the living shit out of everyone who's within 6 feet of you! Now shut up and get back to work or I'll whoop your sorry ass right here and now, got it?" Hearing him say that, General Logi's eyes widened, and as they both slowly gazed around the room, they could see that everyone ne in the library had just overheard their conversation, and by the looks of it, were very shocked by Conrad's reaction. Embarrassed, he announced: "Umm, well, er, uh, sorry, uh, everybody, about that, just please, um, carry on now, pay no attention to us…." Right after he said that, one of the library's staff poked her head out from behind a stack of books, and in a harsh tone, loudly rasped, "Sssssssshhh!" With that, the two men sat back down, and continued their work in silence.

Meanwhile, Shu the rest of the gang was busy doing their part of the research. They were told to find out everything they could about Zola's family and its history, so they decided to split the work: Kluke was to find out about where Zola grew up, while Jiro was busy looking into her status of living. Then Bouquet was in charge of finding information on her family and friends (people they could go to if they needed more information), while Marumaro was in charge of researching any significant events that happened in her records. So far, everybody was doing fine, except for Shu, who, as usual, soon became bored. (taking the liberty to step up and be "project manager" probably wasn't such an exciting idea after all) Instead of finishing his "work," he decided he would take advantage of the moment and go around messing with his friends. As he was walking through rows upon rows of bookshelves, he spotted his first target: Marumaro. "Hey there Marumaro!" Shu said, briskly walking toward the little Devi, who replied, "Oh, hi Shu! What's wrong, do you need anything, Maro?" "Oh, nothing really," Shu giggled in reply. "I just wanted to ask you about something. Marumaro sensed something suspicious, but said, "Sure Shu, Maro! What is it?" "Well," Shu slowly said. "Did you know that if your hand is bigger than your face that most girls will find you "sexy-looking," if you know what I mean?" "REALLY, Maro!" Marumaro excitedly shouted, but when he lifted his hand to his face to test the theory, Shu smacked it hard right into his nose. Shu burst out in a roaring laughter, and holding his stomach, expected Marumaro to do the same, but that wasn't the case. He was pissed at Shu for being so immature, and embarrassing him in front of all the people in the library. Soon, he could feel the rage boiling up inside of him, his face turning red, and with a quick pounce to the right, he tackled Shu to the ground, punching him hard in an effort to teach the idiot a lesson. Shu, in between short giggles, tried to fight the Devi off, but surprisingly found himself losing. He was about to release his shadow, when Jiro, being the only mature one in the group at the moment, came over to break up the fight. As he pulled the two apart, he angrily asked, "What the hell do you two think you're doing? This is a library, not a playground." Annoyed, Shu got up, stood face-to-face with Jiro, crossed his arms, and said, "Well, it might as well be, considering the fact that you're here!" "What?!" Jiro asked, surprised by what he had just heard. Shu continued: "You look like an even gayer version of the Link guy from Legend of Zelda, so every time you're near me, I feel like I'm in a fucking video game!" Jiro was ready to knock the shit out of Shu right there. He quickly raised his fist, and began to say, "Why, you son of a Mother Fu-" when a loud voice interrupted him. "You three, hold it right there!" It was one of the library's guards, and he didn't seem too happy about the boys' behavior. As Jiro lowered his fist, the guard continued, saying, "No fighting in the library. It's against the law, and you should all know better." Shu, deciding to be a complete smart-ass, replied "You're just too much of a pussy to witness a real fight. You're probably just one of those nerds who sit on their asses in a library all day reading books cuz' they're too sissy to do anything real with their lives." Both angry and shocked, the guard said, "How would you like for me to personally drag you out the door over there?" to which Shu shouted in reply, "How would YOU like to SUCK MY BALLS, huh?" Suddenly, the gasps of every person in the library echoed throughout the humungous building, and the humiliated Shu, immediately regretting his response to the guard, felt the pressure of hundreds of eyes staring down at him from all directions.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Shu howled in pain as his entire body landed on the hard cement, sending a wave of pain through his right arm. Groaning, he slowly lifted his head just in time to see the guard say, "And you can stay out until you learn how to be civilized." Then, he swiftly turned and marched back into the library, leaving Shu laying on the ground rubbing his arm. At first, his only concern was whether the girls would make him shower that night after getting himself so dirty, but then he realized how serious this was. Being kicked out of the library meant that he couldn't meet the others for collaborating on their research, and even though he couldn't give two shits about a dumb meeting, he didn't want to piss General Logi off or make himself look like an idiot in front of all his friends. (That is, if they were still his friends after that incident a few minutes ago) So he quickly devised a plan to get back into the building without being spotted…..

"Phew," Marumaro said after the guards had dragged Shu away. "I'm glad that's over Maro!" "You've got that right," Jiro said in reply. "I just don't understand why he has to be such a dick." The two boys suddenly heard running footsteps heading toward them and tuned around to see Kluke and Bouquet coming toward them with worried expressions on both their faces. "We heard shouting," Bouquet said when she finally reached Marumaro and Jiro. "What's going on, and what happened to Shu?" "Well," Jiro began, but Kluke interrupted, saying, "Lemme guess, Shu was being a pain in the ass and got himself kicked out?" Surprised at Kluke's prediction skills, Marumaro asked, "How'd ya know, Maro?" Smiling, Kluke replied, "Simple. Living with Shu your whole life means you really get to know him well," and with a slight "Hmmmph," under her breath, Bouquet turned away from the group and walked away. Then, Kluke ran after her, saying, "Oh come on, he's not your fiancé, so stop acting like he is!" When the girls were far out of sight, Jiro turned to Marumaro, said "We should get back to work now," and when Marumaro nodded in reply, the two both walked away to continue their research.

It was peaceful that afternoon in the Grand Library. People were silently wandering the shelves, looking for a good book to read, some even stopping to chat with their friends along the way. This peace was soon disturbed when the doors suddenly burst open and a young red-haired boy, about the age of 7, ran inside and in his high pitched, pre-puberty little kid voice, pointed outside and shouted, "Hey everyone, you've all gotta see this! It's Aquaman, outside, right now! Come on, you've gotta believe me; he's there I tell ya! Aquaman's here!" With that, everybody in the library dropped their books and fled out the door, including some of the library's guards, who also seemed eager to meet "Aquaman." The only person who remained was the boy, and Shu, who then cautiously stepped out from behind a statue outside. "Are they all gone?" he asked, to which the boy replied, "Yeah, now where's my 10 gold, huh man?" Shu, muttering something under his breath, reluctantly reached into his pocket and gave the boy the last of his money, which to his dismay, happened to be 10 gold. The boy greedily snatched the money from Shu's hand, shoved it in his pocket, and said, "Thanks, and if you ever need anything else, you know who to call, bro" then walked away, leaving Shu free to enter the library.

6:45 pm. The whole team was gathered around a table in the Grand Library's small meeting room. Everybody, except for Legolas, who left early for a salon appointment, (How else do you think he gets that "manly perm"?) and Shu, who at that very moment, stumbled through the door, breathing heavily, and in between gasps for air, said, "Sorry….guys….ran into a….bit of trouble earlier….that's all….." "Just sit down already, would ya?" Jiro shouted to him, to which Shu responded with a dirty look and the good old "middle finger" before sitting down next to Kluke and Bouquet, the only two people out of them who hadn't pissed him off that day. "Alright," Conrad said "Now that we're all here, what have each of us found so far?" Naturally, Kluke was the first to respond: "Well," she began. "From what I found in some of her father's Gran Kingdom files, Zola and her family apparently grew up in a small village called "Terra Ossium," which is Latin for-""Land of the Bones," General Logi interrupted. "Right," Kluke said, then continued with her report: "It is known for being almost impossible to find by normal people with basic engineering, and is named for the thousands of people who died trying to reach it." "Wait," Jiro said. "If it's impossible to find, then how was Nene able to find it?" "I was just getting to that," Kluke replied. "Anyway, the village is located on a cliff in an area called Hades' Pass. Its long, deep canyons and strong wind storms that blow thick fog in from the few water channels that run through certain parts of it and carry debris throughout the gorge make it almost impossible to reach by land. So, the only way people could get in and out of Hades' Pass is by air, which-" "Which is how that son-of-a-bitch Nene found it!" Shu interrupted. "Exactly," Kluke said. "The weather there is pretty much unpredictable, but Nene's technology made it easy to travel through the canyon without taking an excessive amount of damage. Legends say that when the village was first founded, the location was chosen by the elders to protect some form of power by hiding it away from the rest of the world, though others say that the village is most known for the terrible monsters that plague the area, feeding off of the souls of those who died in the cliffs of Hades' Pass." Kluke gathered up her papers into a neat pile, and laying it on the table beside her, said, "Well, that's all I have guys. Jiro?" Jiro then picked up his papers, cleared his throat and said, "According to my research, Zola's status of living was pretty high. Her father, Damien, was an engineer for the town's power plant and was familiar with various forms of energy throughout the area. He also had a great bit of knowledge of ancient texts and ruins, which is why Nene saw him as someone who would make a great researcher for Gran Kingdom." Right as he paused, Bouquet butted in and said: "Hey, that's right. Nene wanted to find shadow power, which is obviously a type of energy." "Yeah," Kluke added. "And Damien worked with energy a lot being an engineer and all, plus his knowledge of ruins would mean he may have knew where to find shadow energy." Jiro nodded, then said, "Yes. Lord Nene heard about him through stories from nearby cities, so he used his airships to get through the canyon safely and find Damien in hopes of recruiting him, and when Nene arrived, he gladly accepted the offer. From there, he worked as a researcher for about 13 years, and during that time got married and, of course, brought Zola into the world, which brings us to…" "Me!" Bouquet said with as much enthusiasm as she had cup size. **(Ha, I just couldn't help adding that one ;-P sorry guys) **"Okay guys Jiro already explained quite a bit about Zola's father, so I'm gonna start with her mother, okie dokie?" While everybody else just rolled their eyes and sweatdropped at Bouquet's sense of maturity, Shu, being the loudmouth of the group, blurted out, "Oh my God Bouquet, just quit it with that crap and get to the point!" Bouquet, not wanting to cause any further argument, pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck her tongue out at the rude boy, then continued: "Anyway, about 2 years into his job as Nene's researcher, Damien met a beautiful young woman named Mariko….

"_Aaaaaaaahhhhh! Help, somebody please, help me!" Damien had been hard at work in Lord Nene's lab all day, and decided to take a quick lunch break when he heard the scream. He followed the sound to the next street over, where there was a woman with long, silky, rust-colored hair pulled to the side in a ponytail and tied with a yellow bow that matched her lengthy yellow dress which was decorated with lace trimming at the sleeves and chest area, and white elbow-length gloves. Damien, being the gentleman he was, ran over to the woman and asked what was wrong. "That man," she shrieked, then pointed to a man running down the street. "He stole my purse!" Damien immediately bolted after the thief, shouting, "Hey you, get back here right now!" Of course, the thief paid no attention to Damien's demands, and just kept on running away at full speed, hoping to get some ground between him and his pursuer. He was fast, but not fast enough, because Damien quickly caught up with him, tackled the man, and within seconds, the thief was on the ground, howling from the wave of pain that traveled up his arm upon impact with the concrete below. Damien wrestled the small, white purse from the thief's grasp, and when it was finally free, he turned and headed back down the street to return it to the woman, who happily greeted the young "hero" with a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. Damien could then feel a warm blush beginning to emerge from his cheeks, and as he slightly turned his head to hide it, the woman giggled. "Thank you so much! I have a whole month's savings in there. Thank goodness you were here to help me get it back!" "No problem, Miss. I couldn't let a thug like him hurt a pretty girl such as yourself," Damien replied. Getting a closer look at the woman, he immediately became mesmerized by the beauty of her striking, light-blue eyes. He couldn't help standing there and gazing into them. He felt a slight fluttering sensation in his stomach when he looked at her, and soon, he could feel his heart begin to pound. Faster and faster it beat, so fast that he almost thought it would burst right out of his chest. Suddenly, the woman, now blushing, decided to break the silence by saying: "My name's Mariko by the way. What's yours?" "Ummm….uhhh…D-…Damien," he stammered. "n-, n-, nice to meet you too, Mariko." The two paused and stood there, blushing at the awkwardness of the moment. "Well, I have to go now," Mariko said. "I need to do some shopping while I'm in town." Damien, reality setting in, replied, "Oh, well, uh, I should go too. I need to get back to work. Goodbye, I guess." Mariko smiled, thanked Damien for a second time, and began to walk away. She hadn't gotten very far when she heard Damien call after her. "Hey, Mariko," he nervously said. "Do you, um, maybe wanna, I don't know, uh, go out sometime, like to a movie?" At first, Mariko didn't know what to say. She may not have wanted to admit it, but she could feel that there was something about this guy, something that made him….perfect, in a way. Shyly, she replied, "Of course, I'd love to. Just stop by whenever you need me, I live in the house all the way at the end of Maple ave. I'm free on Friday, so come then!" Damien then nodded in reply, and with that, Mariko waved goodbye, and continued down the street to finish her shopping. Damien waited until she was out of sight, then as he headed back to Nene's research lab, he pumped his fist down by his side, leaped into the air, and shouted, "Yesss!" so loudly that it turned the heads of all the people around him. A bit embarrassed by the scene he had just caused, he quickly picked up his speed and continued toward the research lab, already beginning to make his plans for Friday…._

**Well guys, there you have it, chapter 4! What do you all think of it, and did you like my little flashback at the end there? I thought that it was more interesting than having all the details explained. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but Mariko has Zola's eyes: bright blue, and I wanted to have the chapter end in a bit of a cliffhanger there, so if you have any questions, please tell me about them in the reviews or with PM so I can include answers to them in the next chapter. Also, please please please review! I need to know what you all think of the story and how I can improve on it! Thank you so much guys 4 all your support, and get ready, cuz chapter 5 is coming your way! ^-^ By the way, both Mariko and Damien are my o/c's.**


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